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Should Facebook Get You Fired? “Essence” Dumps White Male Editor Over His Conservatism

April 23, 2012 | Christelyn Karazin |

Another one bites the dust thanks to Facebook…

Michael Bullerdick, the ill-fated Essence managing editor has been essentially canned from the mag, reportedly for his conservative political and satirical posts on Facebook (BTW, Beyond Black & White was the first to break the story of Bullerdick’s hire last summer). But, but…I thought Mr. Bullerdick would not be responsible for editorial content, just managing the schedule, in a broom closet, in the basement, far far far far far away from the wimmins. Fact is, I think Essence had no choice but to dump him, otherwise magazine sales would have dropped further into the tank as news got out about an “extreme conservative” was infiltrating the ranks of the black woman’s oldest and most sacred editorial bastion; because by the time all the black-interest news outlets, radio shows, television shows and You Tube rants were over, Michael Bullerdick will be rumored to be the middle-aged “Damien” from The Omen. Here’s the deal: I’ve written for magazines for a long time. And to say that a managing editor has no power is like saying Dick Cheney didn’t ever tell George W. Bush what to do about Iraq. I’ve gotten gigs because of the influence of managing editors. They do have power–and they wield it readily.

My question is, did the man do his job right? Did he “manage” the schedule like a good little whipping boy?

“Essence readers would be shocked to find that Bullerdick, who under the prodding of Time Inc became the first white male editor at the magazine last year, openly espouses extremist Right-wing views that run counter to what Essence has historically stood for,” the Journal-isms reader wrote in an email.

The thing is…I have a hard time believing this information was not available when he was hired. Which makes it seem like a red herring to me. I feel like this is an excuse and the real reason is the backlash. But they can’t necessarily SAY “We decided to pull the plug because hiring this guy cost us customers.” That might get them sued.

I didn’t quite understand whose bright idea it was to hire this man in the first place, but I’ve not gone anywhere near their magazine…ever really. Never my thing. But if they can hire someone who’s POV is apparently the anti-thesis of their magazine and what it stands for with little thought as to the consequences and how it would reflect on them, I have very little faith regarding who they’ll pick as a replacement.

Jamila

Toni said what I was going to say: “﻿﻿﻿But if they can hire someone who’s POV is apparently the anti-thesis of their magazine and what it stands for with little thought as to the consequences and how it would reflect on them,….”

And that’s why it good that Essence parted ways with this fellow, if his beliefs are the opposite of the mag then he has no business working there.

ShaunBrown

I don’t know much about this story, but please correct me if i have it wrong. They fired him because he is a conservitive and the public was outraged that he was a conservitive and white and male?

If that is the case, they shouldn’t have let him go. As long as his POV didn’t cause him to do his job incorrectly, shouldn’t matter. Now, if they could tie him to declining sales and such, that is a different story. But no one should be fired over their political viewpoints. Much less if they are black/white or male/female.

KTW1

@ShaunBrown I don’t think that someone should be fired over their politics, either. But Bullerdick posted the worst, inflamatory (and inaccurate) right-wing conspiracy theories (links to the websites of James O’Keefe and Andrew Breitbart, and articles about ‘voter fraud’ – which is basically nonexistent, contemptuous personal remarks about Obama, etc). Ideas like those are not compatible with what Essence has been about historically.

It is very likely that the folks at Essence weren’t familiar with Bullerdick’s politics when they hired him. He’s entitled to his opinions, but he probably should have kept them off a public forum like Facebook.

Patricia Kayden

He will remain with Essence in a different position according to the Madame Noire article. Since I no longer read Essence (used to be a subscriber), can’t say I really care too much about the situation. I have no problem with them hiring a White male editor as long as he was a good fit. It appears that this gentleman was not.

sparel

@Patricia Kayden yeah I used to read that magazine but I hate Essence now.

oekmama

Is it really that hard to find an black woman journalist with enough experience to run a fashion and lifestyle magazine? I thought journalism classes were chock full all over the country…

Kels

@oekmama Apparently, Essence can’t find a black woman anywhere in the world with the credentials to be the Managing Editor of a magazine that’s supposed to be for black women. I bet the person who replaces him will be a white woman.

Avoc42883

@oekmama yes, but not because they don’t exist. Its pretty known amongst black people in the industry in New York that most of them just don’t want to work there.

ridiculous. Prez Obama and Congress are writing a bill that will not allow employers to troll employee’s FB pages. talk about an invasion of privacy.. another reason to start your own company..

zipporah

It’s bad when people are ALLOWED to look on your facebook account! especially when some people are ‘addicted’ to it. I actually wonder now even if privacy laws are broken and cant be put back together..one of the reasons i dont have a facebook in my name

Brice Cameron

What an idiot. Obviously his hiring was a sensitive subject. I would think he would have done everything in his power to prove that he was sensitive to black women and their viewpoints. Instead, his facebook page mocks the views of the majority of his readership. Conservatism isn’t all about race, but his facebook page seemed to support that strain of conservatives who are obsessed with it in a bad way.

If he could be that clueless about his customers(readership), I have a hard time believing he could be competent in any other aspect of his job.

Mark_H

Diversity is a powerful tool. Varying viewpoints, even those in direct opposition to your own, can provide powerful insight into a wider range of opportunities than surrounding yourself with like thinkers.

However, just because the First Amendment (here in the US) says you have freedom of speech, as Stan Lee/Spider man says – “with great freedom comes great responsibility”. If you’re dumb enough to post statements in direct opposition to your employer’s position on the world wide web for all to see…. then “here’s your sign” and you deserve what you get.

Avoc42883

He wasn’t fired for his conservatism. He was fired for the nature of the things he posted. Plus he wrote several statements about the president whom the magazine has a close relationship with. If you talked trash about someone your boss had a relationship with you’d be out on your rear too.

Law Wanxi

“… Did he “manage” the schedule like…”

Looks like he managed to get himself fired.

I don’t use FB or Twitter; I have nothing to tweet and little worth sharing on FB. One of my associate physicians is all over FB and she monitors the other employees’ pages or whatever they’re called for derogatory statements. I have no idea what is said there. For all I know, my employees are reaming me out regularly on Twitter. [‘he’s such an arrogant distant cold rigid heartless SOB’] would just cause me to tell them to leave my mother out of it, LOL.

So, yeah, your employer follows your stuff; big corporations and universities do it all the time.

Brenda55

People find more ways to screw up their jobs.

Want to survive in the work place?

“The Rev. Thomas Reese, the Jesuit priest who edited the Catholic Weekly America, once quoted a Vatican consultant who gave this advice on how to survive in the world’s oldest bureaucracy. It went like this:

Don’t think.
If you think, don’t speak.
If you think and if you speak, don’t write.
If you think and you speak and you write, don’t sign your name.
If you think and you speak and you write and you sign your name, don’t be surprised.”
— Tom Ferrickhttp://www.phlmetropolis.com/2012/04/dont-think.php

I would add this:

If you think and you speak and you write and you sign your name keep it off Facebook otherwise don’t be surprised.
Good advice in this age of social media.

Kels

He’s not a conservative, he’s a birther and a nutjob conspiracy theorist. There’s a difference. There’s nothing wrong with being a conservative. But there is plenty wrong with a person who insists on trying to “other” the President of the United States. Does he think the black women who read Essense magazines aren’t real Americans.

Good riddance to him. He got what he deserved.

Blackberry

I am an avid avoider of Essence magazine …but there is something odd about the managing editor being a male, let alone non-black. Thats two strikes before we even get to his political affiliations.

Who hired the guy in the first place? A person’s politics are personal…until they join the blogosphere. Who didn’t essence do their due diligence and vet the man to make sure he and the company had similar views.

Blackberry

Typo… “WHY didn’t Essence do their due diligence…”

Soul_Incites

@Blackberry Vet vet vet!

Pearl

@Blackberry Why isn’t a black woman? I mean a black woman would know what to write about black women. I don’t like Cosmos.. but I’d rather read that than Essence.

It’s just seems Essence set itself up badly with their hire. They don’t have the right to be shocked about his personal views. A magazine….unlike (supposedly) objective news and newspaper outlets is all about personal perspective.

If the next editor is a BW she still might not be a good fit either. They need better HR —the editor should fit the magazine and not the other way around.

But I agree with you in the sense that I really don’t want to read Essence magazine.

Pearl

@Blackberry @Pearl Oooh! Why don’t they just destroy this and start over.. with a new mindset and everything! That would be fun!

Pearl

What? I looked in the Whitney Houston edition of Essence.. ALL I SEEN WERE HAIR AND MAKEUP ADDS!
LMAO ﻿

ESSENCE! THE LAST OF YOUR PROBLEMS IS THE WHITE MALE EDITOR YOU ASSMUNCHES!!! LMAO

Pearl

Wait okay I’m not sure about what he did, really don’t care.. but uhh I still stand by my statements… I hate you Essence.

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